Air-vented nursing bottle



Jan. 13, 1948. D, HAMlEL 2,434,612

AIR-VENTED mmsine BOTTLE Filed Sept. 23, 1944 Dorm an E Ham z'el l atentecl Jan. 13, 1948 NITED STATES, eATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to infants nursing bottles and nipples therefor, and has for its general object to provide an improved vent or air passage arrangement by which air is drawn into the bottle during nursing in a volume-regulated manner, whereby to insure proper flow of milk or other liquids from the bottle during feeding periods, providing rates of outflow of the milk suitable to the individual feeding characteristics of an infant and preventing collapse of the nipple as the result of partial vacuum conditions in the bottle.

While prior art devices recognize the problem and provide for interior venting of nursing bottles by providing air passages leading from the atmosphere and formed between the neck of the bottle and the adjoining nipple, nevertheless, it is customary in their construction to employ a venting passage of fixed or constant area. With this conventional construction, it is impossible to vary the volume of air entering the bottle in order to obtain different flow rates of the liquid nutrient or adapt the same to liquids of difierent viscosities. Certain infants feed rapidly and others relatively slowly, and where there exists a fixed or constant flow of air into the bottle, no compensation is provided to adapt the rate of withdrawal of the liquid to the feeding infants in dividual requirements. Also, a similar situation is present when the milk or liquid contained in the bottle varies in consistency or viscosity from a given normal.

In my prior copending application, Serial No. 531,319, filed April 17, 1944, now Patent No. 2,434,611, Jan. 13, 1948, I have disclosed a nursing bottle and associated niple formed with a plurality of vents of varying proportions adapted for single and selective use in controlling volumetrically the inflow of air into the bottle, whereby to provide for different withdrawal rates of liquid from the feeding outlet of the nipple, such rates being adjusted to the infant's feeding peculiarities and, also, compensating for liquids of varying consistency.

In the present invention, I provide an improvement upon the construction set forth in my aforesaid patent application wherein a single vent is provided extending around the bottle neck, the vent being uniformly tapered so that one end thereof possesses minimum cross sectional area and the other end its maximum area, this vent through the rotation of the nipple, or its position of application on the bottle neck being registered at any desired point in its length with a second vent of uniform cross sectional area, so thatby varying the position of registration of th tapered vent with that of the uniform vent, the efiective cross sectional area of the combined vents may be regulated to provide for a desired and variable inflow of atmospheric air into the feeding nipple of the bottle.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view disclosing the upper portion of a nursing bottle on which a flexible nipple is positioned, th airventing channels or passages being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the bottle and nipple on the plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View of the neck portion of the bottle showing the tapered venting channel therein;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the inside of the nipple showing the venting channel of uniform cross sectional area;

Fig. 6 is a similar view disclosing a modified form in which the tapered channel of varying cross sectional area is formed in the nipple and adapted for registration with a channel of uniform cross sectional area formed in the bottle neck;

Fig. 7 is detail sectional view disclosing a further modified form in which the channels or vents are produced by ridges formed on the nipple and bottle.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, and especially to Figs. 1 to 4 therein, the numeral l6 designates my improved nursing bottle, the same being provided with a substantially cylindrical body I I which terminates at its upper end in a relatively wide neck l2 having an annular bead or lip 13. In its process of manufacture, the bottle has molded or otherwise formed therein a venting channel 14 which includes a horizontally disposed tapering portion l5 extending around the neck of the bottle immediately below the bead or lip l3.

At one end, the portion l5 of the channel is of minimum cross sectional area and the opposite end thereof is of maximum area. At its larger end, the channel M terminates in an upwardly directed portion 55, which possesses uniformly throughout its length substantially the same cross sectional area as the larger end of the tapering channel portion [5. The upwardly directed portion 16 of the channel [4 terminates at the upper edge of the bottle, within the confines of the chamber l1 formed internally of the flexible nipple l8, which is removably applied to the bottle in the ordinary manner.

The nipple l8 may be formed, as usual, from rubber, or other similar flexible material, and is of standard construction except that the thickened and inwardly flanged lower portion l9 thereof, which grips the sid of the bottle below the lip I3, is molded or otherwise formed to provide a vertical vent passage 20, which, through the rotation of the nipple on the bottle, or by reason of the position of application which the nipple assumes when applied to the bottle, is adapted to register with different portions of the tapered portion of the channel M, the passage 20 possessing a uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length which approximately conforms to the cross sectional area of the largest portion of the channel Id.

In using these devices, if it is desired to vent the interior of the bottle so that but a small amount of atmospheric air is to be admitted therein, the nipple is located on the bottle so that its vent passage 20 will be in registration with the smaller end of the tapering portion I5 of the channel M, which acts to restrict the amount of air flowing into th nipple chamber I! from the atmosphere.

If an increased amount of air is desired, the nipple is located so that its vent passage will be disposed in registration with the larger end of the tapering channel, and it will be noted that by virtue of the construction of the tapering channel any given amount of air may be admitted into the nipple chamber within the limits afforded by the tapering channel. If no atmQspheric air is desired, the vent passage 20 is disposed in registration with that part of the bottle neck removed from the channel l4. The bottle neck, below the nipple, may be provided with instruction symbols or indicia to facilitate the use of the device and secure the benefits of the adjustments provided thereby.

There are, of course, numerous modifications which may be made in the structure without departing from the features of the invention. For instance, as disclosed in Fig. 6, the tapering channel 2| may be formed with the nipple, instead of being provided in the bottle, as in the preferred form previously described. Also, as shown in Fig. 7, instead of channeling or grooving the nipple to form the vent passage 20, equivalent results are secured by the provision of an inwardly directed ridge 22, which spaces the nip-' ple at localized positions from the outer surface of the bottle to produce the venting passage.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a nursing bottle which is simple in construction, easily cleaned to maintain it in a perfectly sanitary condition, and one wherein the nipple may be positioned on the bottle in such manner as to provide for wide vol,- umetric variations in the amount of air drawn into the bottle during infant feeding.

I claim:

1. A nursing bottle having a nipple-receiving neck member, a nipple member of flexible material adapted for yielding and close-fitting engagement with said neck, one of said members being formed with a tapering channel, and a vent passage provided in the other of said members extending perpendicular to said channel and adapted for registration with difierent portions there- 4 of upon rotational adjustment of said members, whereby to regulate volumetrically the amount of air entering the interior of said bottle through said vent passage and channel.

2. A nursing bottle comprising a body terminating at one end in an open neck on which is formed an annular lip, an elastic nipple member adapted to be applied over said neck, said nipple member having yielding engagement with said neck and the lip formed therewith, said bottle neck and nipple member being formed with complemental venting passages providing when in registration for the inflow of atmospheric air into said bottle, one of said passages having a region of progressively increasing cross sectional area and the other of said passages possessing a substantially uniform cross-sectional area, whereby to control variably in a volumetric manner the inflow of air into said bottle.

3. A nursing bottle comprising a body terminating at the upper end thereof in an open neck, a nipple of elastic material applied to said neck, said neck having a venting passage formed therein, said venting passage being provided with a horizontally and circumferentially extending portion possessing progressively increasing cross sectional area from one end thereof to the other and terminating at its larger end in an upwardly directed portion of uniform cross sectional area, and said nipple being provided with a venting passage formed in its inner face and extending perpendicularly to the horizontally and circumferentially extending portion of the venting passa e- 4. In combination with a nursin bottle having an open neck, an integral annular lip projecting from outer surfaces of said neck, said neck and lip being formed with a single vent passage, the latter including a horizontal portion extendin circumferentially around the neck immediately below said lip, said portion possessing a progressively increasing cross sectional area from one end thereof to the other and terminating in an upwardly directed portion which possesses uniformly a cross sectional area substantially corresponding to that of the greatest cross sectional area of the horizontal portion of said passage, and a nipple having a bottle-engaging portion formed with an annular shoulder adapted for constant engagement with an under side of said lip, said nipple including a flexible body section disposed above the open neck of said bottle, and a vent passage provided in the inner surface of the bottle-engaging portion and shoulder of said nipple, the vent passage of said nipple being adapted for registration with different portions of the horizontal circumferentially extending portion of the bottle passage to regulate volumetrically the amount of air entering the interior of said bottle and nipple through said vent passages.

5. In combination, a nursing bottle having an open neck formed with an integral annular lip projecting from and surrounding an upper portion of the neck, said neck and lip being formed with a single vent passage, the latter including a horizontal portion extending circumferentially around the neck immediately below said lip, said portion possessing a progressively increasing cross sectional area from one end thereof to the other, said horizontal portion terminating at its larger end in an upwardly directed channel passing over said lip to an upper edge of the bottle neck, and a nipple having a body section terminating in an inwardly directed annular neck-en- 5 gaging flange of greater cross sectional thickness than said body section, said flange being adapted for constant engagement with an under side of the annular lip, an inner surface of said flange being formed with a single vent passage adapted for registration with diiferent portions of the horizontal circumferentially extending portion of the vent passage in said bottle.

DORMAN E. I-IAMIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Herb Nov. 7, 1905 Shepherd Sept. 26, 1911 Compobasso et a1. Apr. 17, 1928 Tauf June 9, 1936 Schmid June 11, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Feb. 22, 1911 

